Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Accurate height.”, Droid jokes, the kitchen erupting in giggles at the joke and Rectrixx's offended noises, “Hey! I'm not that short!”

“Did the armrest just say something?”, Puffer asks and moves one arm up to rest his elbow on Rec's head, much to the amusement of his pack and the playful indignation of Rectrixx as he escapes from under the arm with a pout, “Ok. That's just rude.”

“But true!”, Smitty gleefully chimes in, swooping in to hug the smaller Omega from behind with Pezzy moving closer as well and John and Matt glance at each other as all three of their Omegas crowd around Rec, unconsciously trying to comfort him with their pheromones.

Rectrixx is visiting for two weeks, already three days in, and he's clearly been downtrodden and sad, more nervous and skittish than usual. And that's saying something since he's always skittish and nervous. It's so bad this time that even the lack of scent doesn't stop the gnawing at the back of all of their brains to make it better, to cheer up the Omega that's basically Pack but not really. Even if only John and Matt seem to notice that Rec is getting coddled more than normally.

Matt can only imagine how he would smell if he would take off the scent patches that dilute his scent down until it's nonexistent. It would surely send them all into a tizzy. It's a disconcerting thing. Not being able to smell a person at all. Betas may have a lighter scent but it's still there, still able to convey emotions, even if not as nuanced as Omegas or Alphas can. Patches and other suppressants are rarely used because scent is a big component in social interaction.

Rec always wears the patches. The pack doesn't even know what his scent is.

They migrate over to the living room, settling down on the couch to watch a movie, Rectrixx sitting down at the edge of the couch but getting shoved around by the others sitting down and moving around until he is in the middle, squeezed between Puffer and Pezzy.

Grizzy gets a text about halfway through, “Hey guys. Yumi asks if he can crash on our couch for a couple of days.”

“Couple of days? Must have been really bad this time.”, Smitty grimaces, anger becoming an undertone in his scent.

Yumi has been fighting more with his Pack lately. They always had their arguments, mostly for petty things, but they have been getting more frequent, Yumi often coming over to cool off and vent.

From what they gathered from the stories, the other Alpha seems to feel threatened by Yumi's presence, the digs and jibes getting more serious lately, and his other Pack members are either passively going along with the other Alpha or ignoring the growing tensions between their Alphas. Leaving Yumi isolated with his frustrations. It's taking a toll on their friend and they don't like it one bit.

“I'm telling him that he can come over for as long as he needs.”, Grizzy says, already typing his response, inviting the other Alpha into his territory without a second thought.

The doorbell rings the second the message is sent and the pack looks at each other with concern, Grizzy standing up to open the door. Predictably, it's Yumi, with a backpack and three big bags next to him, sheepishly smiling at Grizzy, “Hey. Sorry for texting you so late. I was at your door before realizing it. Like I was on autopilot.”

Grizzy smiles back, holding out his hand for their usual greeting, “No problem.”, he eyes the bags, “Big fight?”

Yumi picks two bags up, Grizzy naturally going for the third, and steps over the threshold, saying in a jovial tone that doesn't manage to hide the hurt, “Oh yeah! I'm done! Not going back. Leaving those Motherfuckers. Just need a date for the bondbreaking.”

Several gasps ring out from the living room, Yumi's voice loud enough to carry through, and Smitty turns the corner a second later, “You're leaving your Pack? For good?”

“Yeah.”, Yumi confirms and yelps when Smitty grabs him, making him drop his bags, and pulls him along to the living room, pushing him onto the couch, next to John and Matt, before climbing after him, “What happened?”

“Ugh!”, Yumi groans, wildly gesticulating and projecting his anger and hurt in his scent, “Everything!”

He launches into a tirade about how all the needling finally came to a head, the fight that was brewing for so long breaking out over some petty nonsense because Yumi was finally fully fed up.

Having one hurt friend here had already shaken things up, everyone's instincts growing irritated even with the lack of scent, but Yumi's arrival and clear communicated distress in the air makes their hackles rise even more as they listen to him.

“And then that fuckass…”, Yumi keeps ranting and his scent gets stronger in annoyance and anger. Rectrixx shoulders drop a little at the angry Alpha sitting near him, unconsciously making himself smaller. Before any of them can really register the change, much less do something to ease him, Yumi's eyes flicker to him for a fraction of a second and his scent reigns itself in, no longer wildly projecting his anger and frustration. He doesn't even seem to do it on purpose, just as unconscious as Rectrixx's reaction had been.

“Anyway, I don't wanna talk about it anymore.”, Yumi interrupts himself with a tired huff, changing the subject as he turns to Rectrixx, “You must have some good news, right? How was it at Herbo and Heavenly's?”, he wiggles his eyebrows in a suggestive manner, “Did they finally stop leading you on?”

He's directly addressing the elephant in the room that the Pack has been too nervous to ask about yet. Rectrixx had been visiting Herbo and Heavenly before coming to them with an air of depression.

It's not a secret that Rectrixx has been hoping to bond with the two Alphas. Something that seemed mutual with the amount of flirting that goes on between the trio even if nothing has come out of it yet. A thing that the pack joked about with Rec often in the beginning but turned to a bit of a sour point as time kept ticking without anything to show for.

Rec laughs, doing his little, nervous giggle thing as he slightly ducks his head, and denies, “They weren't leading me on. But…no…no good news there.”, he licks his lip anxiously.

“Awww, why not?”, Pezzy asks in a light, bantering tone, “Did they chicken out again?”

"Losers.", Puffer frowns and Rectrixx laughs a bit more genuinely, “No. They just….we just decided that we wouldn't bond.”

The Pack, and Yumi, erupts into several noises of disbelief and indignation, rapid fire questions getting thrown at Rec's head, whose answers get lost in the cross-examination like rain of questions.

“They led you on for so long just to reject you?!” “They didn't lead…”

“Why the fuck not?!?” “Well, they said…”

“Was their house a dumpster fire? Did you reject them?” “What? No, that's…”

“How could they NOT want you?! Are they stupid? Blind?” “Ahhh….well…”

“Were they being forceful with you?” “No! They didn't even…”

“Did you not like their scent?” “No, I actually really…”

“Did they not like your scent?”, Droid asks the next logical question and Rectrixx takes a breath in to answer but then stocks, his mouth slowly closing again and his eyes moving down where his hands are now fidgeting with each other and then to the side with a slight grimace.

The rooms falls silent.

“No way, right?”, Pezzy asks cautiously while Rectrixx still avoids their eyes, shrugging, “You took off your scent blockers for them and they said they don't like your scent?” The Pack is stunned. Rectrixx always, always, wears the patches and they insult him when he shows enough trust to take them off? Unforgivable!

“They didn't say that they didn't like my scent but…It's not like I can blame them. My scent is annoying.”, Rectrixx says, a bit more hastily over the ‘annoying’ part, before trying to redirect the conversation, “Should we start the movie from the beginning? Yumi, have you watched it already?”

He has no luck in doing so though as the Pack stares at him with varying emotions.

“Annoying?”, Pezzy whines distraught, pressing closer to Rectrixx. Who would tell an Omega that their scent is annoying? Scent is one of the biggest prides of an Omega, whether it's sweet, calming or something else. Attacking that aspect is deeply offensive and hurtful.

“Yeah? I've been told.”, Rec fidgets through his answer, eyes on his lap, trying to redirect again, “The movie…”

“No way.”, John cuts in, “There's no way your scent is bad. I bet it's like all sweet and pleasant and beautiful and shit and their noses are just stupid and bad.”

“Yeah!”, Droid agrees and Smitty chimes in too, “How many opinions have you heard anyway? All of them must be wrong in the head!”

“We should judge that ourselves. We aren't wrong in the head. All of those assholes' opinions don't matter. Come on, Rec!”, Matt agrees, mimicking taking off scent patches on his own neck, all eyes on Rectrixx intensifying.

“Shut up!”, Puffer hisses at his Packmates, sitting up straight, slightly curled over Rectrixx in a protective manner, making them back off a bit guiltily at Rec's anxious face and posture.

“Rec….”, Grizzy starts hesitantly, trying to clear the aggravated pheromones in the room by pumping out his own calming ones, getting aided by Puffer and Pezzy doing the same, “Would you mind taking the patches off? I'm sure your scent is fine.”

“I dunno…”, Rectrixx answers awkwardly, fingers scratching over the patches on his wrists, “If you're sure?”

Grizzy smiles and nods and Rectrixx slowly lifts his hand to peel away the patch on the scent gland on his neck, doing the same for his wrists after.

The sourness of the lemon that dominates Rectrixx's scent is so pungent that it burns in the back of their throats, coupled with a bitter smell of burned sugar. It sets all of their senses aflame, different instincts to soothe or protect clawing their way to the forefront.

His scent hiccups even further into the burned sugar part when they all tense up and he laughs self consciously, nervously scratching at his arms as his eyes move back down to the floor.

Puffer catches his arm when it moves to his neck to put the patch back on his neck, dilated eyes zeroed in on him, “Your scent is not annoying. You just smell anxious as fuck.”

Rectrixx looks at him with surprise, not shaking off the hand holding onto him, again giving his awkward giggle, “Yeah…that's the annoying part?”

“What? That's not annoying! Who told you that you being anxious is annoying? Are you always this anxious? Is that why you wear scent patches?”, Smitty asks heatedly, nearly snarling the first question in his indignation.

There are some enraged agreements and exclamations thrown around the room and Rectrixx flinches slightly at the suddenly loud room, not in fear but surprise, “No one? It's just like…really obvious. And yeah, I guess….Scent patches are just easier. I should…”, Puffer gives him a little warning hiss when he tries going for his neck with the patch again and takes it from him, throwing it on the couch table, out of reach.

“Aren't you guys overreacting a bit? It's just a scent patch. It's better than stinking up your place. Even Herbo…”, he cuts himself off, a grimace on his face.

“The fuck did Herbo do?”, Yumi damn near growls, just as invested and offended for Rec as the Pack, and Rec hesitates a little before shrinking further into himself, admitting in a small voice, “Herbo asked me to put the scent blocker back on.”

“He did WHAT?!”, Smitty explodes, everyone else in the room not far behind as the room, once again, is filled with righteous fury on the small Omegas behalf, several less than stellar comments about Herbo and Heavenly getting thrown around.

“It's not a big deal.”, Rec tries calming them down, only fanning the flames as John immediately disagrees, “Of course it's a big deal! First they lead you on for months…”

“They did not lead me on.”, Rec defends them, “They never actually said they wanted me apart from jokes and they didn't court me. I was just stupid.”

“Stop defending them!”, Smitty scowls at him, “They don't deserve to be defended! You're not stupid and your scent is not annoying!”

“Your scent is really really pretty actually!”, Droid chimes in with earnesty, putting together the two components of Rectrixx's scent, “You smell like Lemon cake.”

Rectrixx is clearly surprised at the comparison and his scent lightens to bashfulness as he blushes a little, ducking his head in shyness instead of nervousness this time.

“True.”, John says, “You smell like a snack. What fucking idiots, letting a snack get away. Especially after leading you on. ”

“They didn't…”

Puffer pulls his legs onto the couch while the argument continues, body tilting towards Rectrixx in a way that he is only inches away from curling completely around him. His hands twitch towards one of the throw pillows on the couch near Rectrixx, slowly making its way towards it before pulling it closer, just as slow, until it is behind Rectrixx's back, who shifts unconsciously to accommodate, not really noticing the shift in Puffer's behavior.

Pezzy watches as Puffer starts reaching for another pillow, pushing it closer until he can take it and then reaching for a blanket to unfold, both Omegas slowly starting to built a nest around their friend. Smitty starts the same on his side of the couch, frowning at the lack of materials to turn the whole Couch into a big nest.

Matt and John look at each other before standing up, unnoticed by the others on the couch as they are too focused on the conversation. They return shortly after with more blankets and pillows that they pilfered from the Packnest, Matt smiling when Smitty starts purring, rubbing his head against his shoulder in thanks. They leave again to get more materials from everyone's rooms.

Yumi tries standing up when he realizes what they are doing but Smitty puts a hand on his shoulder to keep him down, rearranging the pillows around him before pulling a blanket as cover to connect to the nest, all the while continuing to badmouth Herbo and Heavenly.

As a non Pack Member, and an Alpha at that, it's not polite to barge into a Pack’s nest, could be seen as invasive or even challenging to the Alphas of the Pack. He looks around. Smitty surely seems like he wants him in the nest. Pezzy is busy nudging Droid into position and piling different blankets around them as he settles into his lap but he smiles at him when their eyes meet.

Puffer also doesn't seem bothered by him being in the nest, doesn't even acknowledge him at all as he looks at the different nesting materials the Betas have brought with a critical eye before his head swivels to Grizzy, tugging on the blanket he is half sitting on. He carefully drapes it around Rectrixx, only seeming satisfied for a moment as he wrinkles his nose, head turning back to Grizzy with a demanding glare.

A blanket lands on Yumi's head and he startles, looking up at Matt snickering at him as he drops more on his lap for Smitty to pick apart. Droid snickers along and John lets himself fall next to Yumi, going back to egging the conversation on.

Lastly he looks at Grizzy, who just gives him a smile and a little shrug as he moves the way Puffer wants until he is on the other side of Rectrixx, the small Omega between them. He's certainly not gonna throw the other Alpha out of the nest. For one because his Pack clearly wants him here but also because he wants him here too. He has seen Yumi as an honorary pack member for a while now.

Relaxing back into the couch, Yumi once again joins the others in ranting about the two Alphas, distracting Rectrixx even more from the nest being built around him as he attempts to defend them with weaker growing conviction.

Soon the nest takes more concrete form, Rectrixx's scent turning sweeter and sweeter and unconsciously relaxing as the comfort sets in. Eventually it's finished and Rectrixx finally notices what happened when Puffer starts purring at him, mouth clicking shut and looking around with wide eyes at Pezzy, now curled up on Droid's lap, Matt next to Droid, alternating between petting Pezzy's head and rubbing his wrist against Smitty's neck, Smitty half on John with his legs on Yumi's lap and Grizzy and Puffer just shy of cuddling him.

He tenses a little but he has already been lulled so far into contentment that it only takes Puffer's purring getting a bit louder for him to fall back into it, relaxing and scent turning even sweeter when Puffer uses the chance to put his arms around him to fully pull him against his chest, scooting closer to Grizzy, who puts an arm around them, to press himself and Rec into his side. The last traces of anxiety slowly wash out of the room.

Pezzy looks around the room half an hour later, feeling pretty smug.

His and Smitty's eyes meet and they smile, both clearly thinking the same.

Pezzy would have had his eyes on Yumi for a while now if he hadn't been in a pack already. He likes him. He's funny and nice and a good friend. There have been countless instances where he thought that he would be a great fit for their pack and cursed his pack status.

Grizzy is a caring, chill, almost too sweet Alpha. Used to carefully deliberate his actions as the only Alpha. Yumi is brash in comparison. If it had been Yumi and not Grizzy at the party where the streamer was being a nuisance, Pezzy is sure that there would have been a fight. Smitty would have for sure loved that.

Pezzy prefers Grizzy's temperament to be honest but he can see Smitty with his teasing, loud nature enjoying a bit of Alpha pushback, a little back and forth. The bit more spice that Yumi's scent is teasing.

Having another Alpha would make Grizzy's life better too. Not being the sole protector would do a lot for his, or his instincts, piece of mind. Pezzy also hopes that it would give him the push to finally start courting Puffer. Most of the pack can clearly see the want in his eyes and the favor in his actions but he's too in his head about providing for them all. Yumi's presence could help that. Not to mention that having two Alphas would be great for heats.

It's sad that Yumi has to go through the heartbreak of breaking bonds but Pezzy will not look a gift horse in the mouth. They are a better fit for him anyway.

His eyes flicker to Rectrixx, cuddled between Puffer and Grizzy, scent finally just refreshing citrus and pure sugar, and another want spreads in his chest. A possessive want.

He's had so many practical reasons for wanting Yumi besides just liking him as a person but with Rectrixx it boils down to ‘I like him. I want him in my pack’.

Well, he thinks as he watches Puffer's hand card through Rectrixx's hair, dangerously close to scenting, maybe he just didn't see the way he would benefit them because he always wore those awful scent blockers.

John and Matt would love having another Omega to coddle. There's only so much attention they can bestow onto Smitty, the only Omega of their pack who revels in the excessive attention. He knows that they hate how Puffer always refuses them and how he himself avoids them when they get too much. Their instincts are too primed to not be bothered by them refusing to be taken care of.

Rectrixx would probably benefit from it too. Pezzy thinks back to the sour smell of anxiety and his skittish behavior, having to stop his hackles from rising. His pack is a treasure trove of calming scents and cuddles. They would take better care of him than Herbo and Heavenly ever could!

Lastly he looks up at Droid, taking in his big smile as he looks around the room and inserts himself into the conversations with big laughs. No one would love a bigger pack more than Droid. His favorite Beta loves it when it's loud and busy or when there are cuddles to be given. His happiness would certainly go up with Yumi and Rectrixx joining the pack.

Pezzy takes another cursory glance around the room, mind made up.

Both of them fell into his lap on the same day. He's not gonna waste this chance. Now he just has to prod and poke until they are theirs.

Glee fills him as he starts scheming.

Chapter Text

Yumi hums to himself while making himself and Rectrixx a couple of sandwiches, doing his best to ignore the hollow feeling inside his core where his bonds used to be. It has been about two weeks since he bondbreaking with his old pack, the lack of bonds still like an open wound in his chest.

Most of the time it's surprisingly easy to ignore though, even if the emptiness never completely stops gnawing at his mind. Living with the Frouse Pack has been great, really really great. He gets dragged into nests, Smitty extends his frequent need to scent to him, the Betas behave like he is one of their Alphas, Grizzy has been really gracious with him in his territory and interacting so familiarly with his pack, banter is easy, etc etc. It feels so natural, like he never lost a pack. Even Rectrixx came to visit, offering silent support.

So yeah, it's been going better than he could ever have imagined. When the Pack is there to distract him.

Right now it's just him and Rec though. Puffer has been in Preheat for about a day now, all of his packmates already collected and in his nest. It makes ignoring the loneliness much harder.

Not that Rectrixx is bad company. Yumi actually finds it really rewarding to tease the small Omega out of his shell, feeling very pleased when the sour lemon turns sweet because of something he did. It's become a kind of game in the house when Rec is visiting. Who can turn the anxiety away the fastest? Because of who smells the house like lemon cake?

The two decided to watch a movie and Rec has already made himself comfortable on the couch, the echoes of a nest in the way he rearranged the blankets around him. Yumi smirks to himself, just him and he feels comfortable enough to almost nest. He's gonna brag so much to the others later.

He sighs, feeling another longing pang in his empty core, putting the last sandwich on the plate to hurry back to the living room when an overwhelming wave of saltwater slaps him in the face and he freezes, unsure how to react when coming face to face with Puffer, the Omega looking at him with an intense stare, subtly sniffing the air.

His eyes first flicker down to Rectrixx, looking just as surprised as he feels from his place in Puffer's arms, being pressed tightly against him, the taller Omega's wrist rubbing into his neck, and then behind Puffer, where Grizzy is standing, eyes moving from Puffer to Yumi and back.

Fuck. Not good. Omegas can be even scarier than Alphas when defending their packs and Puffer is tall and strong and backed by his Alpha. Yumi will consider himself lucky if he gets away with just a few bite wounds. He should have left the house like he normally does when a heat hits but the others had been quick to reassure that it would be fine. Smitty and Pezzy had even been weirdly adamant that he should stay. Fuck him for listening to them.

He ducks his head and shrugs his shoulders up, trying to make himself seem smaller, eyes not leaving Puffer.

Puffer tilts his head, sniffing the air again before snapping down to Rectrixx, giving him a soothing purr and briefly leaning down to nuzzle into his hair. Yumi can't smell it over the dominating seawater scent but Rec's must be turning nervous with the tension in the air. Then he grabs him under the arms and lifts him up, turning to give him to Grizzy, who obediently takes him, carrying the perplexed Omega.

Turning back to Yumi, Puffer takes a step forward and Yumi, in turn, one back. Puffer takes another forward and Yumi another back. Scrunching his nose, Puffer chuffs at him, raising one arm towards him. The sound, an omegan call to sooth or for pack or puppies to come to them, catches Yumi so off guard that he doesn't retreat again, the standoff between the two of them now for a different reason.

Puffer chuffs again but doesn't wait for him to move, closing the distance himself and raising his hands to Yumi's face, giving him a few encouraging chirps, to guide it down to rest against his neck, one hand carding through his short hair and the other moving to stroke over his back in a calming manner.

Yumi is practically assaulted by the feeling of a nice nap on a beautiful day at the beach, involuntarily relaxing as his mind turns floaty, Puffer's purr vibrating through him. He doesn't even really register starting to cling to the Omega in front of him, feeling like a puppy when fingers press against the scent glands on his neck and a kiss is pressed to his temple.

He dazedly stumbles after Puffer when he pulls back and grabs the young Alpha's wrist, not without briefly pressing their glands together, turning to lead the way. He chirps approvingly at Grizzy when they pass them, his free hand caressing his cheek before moving down to scent the top of Rectrixx's head once more.

Together they make their way to Puffer's room and Yumi only regains his mind a little when he is gently pressed to lie down in the massive nest, absentmindedly closing his arms around Rectrixx when Puffer pushes him into his side, chin moving by itself to rub over the crown of his head.

His eyes follow Grizzy as he moves to the other side of the nest, in between Pezzy, who immediately cuddles into his side, and Smitty. Droid is on Smitty's other side and then comes John, Matt following after an approximately Puffer sized gap. Droid gets plucked from his spot after Puffer seems satisfied with how he placed Yumi and Rectrixx, pulled to their side until he is draped over Rec's back. Puffer chirps happily, scenting the trio, seeming very pleased. He spends a few extra seconds on Rectrixx, thoroughly drenching him.

After one more round of going over his neck, Puffer stills, staring down, intensly mustering Rec. His hand gently turns his head to expose the expanse of his throat and he leans down. Droid promptly nestles closer to Rec, his head moving to cover his throath, seemingly by accident. Leaning back up, Puffer frowns at Droid but lets him be, instead turning to look at Yumi, hand already stroking over his cheek, and he can only stare back with wide eyes, unsure but simuntaniously sure what Puffer wants. What he just tried to do. What he will now try on him.

“Puffer.”, Grizzy rumbles before anything can happen and Puffer looks to him, studying the hand that reaches for him, “Come here. No bond without consent.”

He glances between the two Alphas, visibly torn between claiming new pack mates and listening to his Alpha. His head snaps around though when Smitty whines and projects hurt in his scent, making grabby hands for him, quickly crossing the nest to console him.

Yumi takes a second to look around, deciding to not panic over the bonding attempt for now. The mood in the nest is clearly giddy, Matt and John giggling amongst themselves as John passes a twenty dollar bill to Matt and Pezzy and Smitty giving Yumi the biggest, most smug smiles he has ever seen. Even Droid is smirking up at him, havin gone back to comfortably lie next to them, no longer protecting Rectrixx's neck.

“Did you plan this?”, he asks, still baffled by what just happened, being invited into a preheat nest of an Omega that's not pack is unheard of, and still too foggy to think too clearly, “We are not pack. How are we here?”

“Say ‘Thank you, Droid'”, Smitty snickers back at him and Pezzy starts to laugh, cooing at Puffer when he looks over to him at the sound and stretching his head forward to receive an affectionate nuzzle.

“What?”, Rectrixx asks at the non sequitur, shy and unsure, a nervous little giggle forcing itself from his throat and Yumi can faintly smell the sourness return. Droid presses himself closer again, Rectrixx firmly shielded from both sides and Puffer croons from across the nest. Yumi rumbles low in his throat and the smell turns sweet again. How it even managed to turn sour is beyond Yumi. This is the most comforting nest he has ever been in. Not just because of Puffer and his nest building skills, though that surely plays a big part, but also because every scent of the pack is a calming one, only heightend by how content everyone smells. Rec's anxiety never stood a chance.

Smitty is undeterred in his smug glee, seeming overly eager to explain, “Because his scent got you in. Puffer plays scent association in preheat. Refuses to let anyone in that doesn't meet his weird standard. It's been a real bitch until we figured that out. Matt and John get in first because of rain and coconut and how he thinks that compliments his. Geniously dubbed the ‘Tropical Seastorm’ by yours truly.”, John rolls his eyes while Matt wheezes delightedly, “Grizzy has wood so he's a ship.”, Smitty snorts at that particular point in the explanation with a glace to Matt, “Pezzy next because his scent matches with Grizzy. The two are ‘The forrest clearing’”

John interrupts before Smitty can go on, “And then Smitty because he makes himself smell sad and Puffer can't resist that. He's the ‘Little pissbaby bitch’”

Smitty glares briefly at John but his smile returns for Puffer when chuffs at him, saying in a sweet tone, “And Droid matches mine a little if you twist it enough.”

Matt giggles, wiggling his eyebrows at Yumi, “‘The Teaparty'”

Yumi snorts, it's funny but baffling at the same time. He's never heard of having to jump through hoops to get an Omega to nest with their pack. It must have been a painful stretch of time until they figured out this convoluted mess of a solution. His eyes flicker to Puffer, the Omega having moved on to Matt after Smitty stopped smelling upset, purring and chirping at he Beta cuddled up on his lap. Must have been worth it though. He looks and smells exceedingly happy.

Rectrixx shifts slightly in Yumi's arms so he can look over his shoulder at the others, “But what does this have to do with us? We're not pack.”

“Yet.”, Droid yawns and then tenses when Pezzy hisses at him, “Droid!”

“What?!”, he defends himself with a high pitched whine, “Puffer literally just tried to bite them! The cat is out of the bag!”

“I don't care! We're still courting them!”, Pezzy answers with agitation and Droid cuts his own answer off when Puffer chuffs into the room, detaching from Matt to crawl over to Pezzy to pull him into his lap instead, scenting him again and obviously trying to sooth with a steady purr, checking him over for the source of the distress.

“Mama Puff is on the prowl. No negative emotions allowed.”, Droid whispers to Yumi with a playful seriousness and he is not spared from Puffer's fussing after the older man has reassured himself that Pezzy is fine, gentle fingers ghosting over him.

Yumi takes a few seconds to process what he just learned. They're courting him? They want him in their pack? All of the last few weeks was them trying to show him how good of a pack they are. To seduce him.

His cheeks start to burn as blood rushes up to make him blush. He has never been courted before.

Rectrixx seems wholly overwhelmed with that information, gaping at them, but his scent doesn't sour at all, eventually landing on shyness, hiding his face in Yumi's chest.

Grizzy laughs and winks at Yumi when he looks up at him, “In case you're wondering, you three are ‘The Bakery'”

Rectrixx makes a mortified, embarrassed sound but Yumi laughs, the hollow feeling gone completely for the first time.